August 2018 30 Day Rule/focus Pix & Discussion

August 12th
Razor: Timeless .95 SC
Blade: Gillette Platinum (3)
Brush: Switchback/TGN Grade A Silvertip
Pre-shave: Stirling Mentholated
Soap: PAA Club Guy
Lucky Tiger Face Tonic
AS: Pinaud Clubman

Good morning, gentlemen!

I tried something a little different today. I have been doing wtg/atg with touch up. This morning I went atg/xtg with touch up. Much less touch up required. Near BBS with no irritation. Great shave!

Have a great day!


Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

Beautiful picture and great shave, Clint!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

Excellent shave today with the Chiseled Face Ghost Town Barbershop. Pleasantly surprised at the loading power. Perhaps I should make the Crown King brush become "one" with that particular soap. With the CFGHTB aftershave, it all resulted into a dolphin fine/smooth shave. . I may repeat with Chiz Face tomorrow, but it would be with a different brush, of course.

 

There's no happier and more welcoming place on earth than an airport in the morning. The possibilities. The hopes. The dreams. . The hungover TSA crews. I don't know. I think I prefer Waffle House. Have a safe flight home!

 

Survey update: Lots of potential with this baby, but Toggle remains kinda way back.

 

I'm sensing from this and another reply or two that I may have made it sound like artisans vs. classics is a "good/bad" thing. And, in my ramblings on a half asleep brain on the weekends I may have gone there without realizing it. I think you sorted it out well. Classics were and are more just "soap designed to get a job done", though many do include scent profiles and some extra ingredients for skin care/comfort. Mitchell's, after all, is one of the classic lanolin added soaps - which is, of course, why they call it "wool fat". While the scent is just a nice, fresh kind of clean scent, the moisturizing properties and skin-feel make it a higher comfort soap than say, Williams. Not bashing Williams either - Fuzzy finally got me out of that rut - but you have to admit that Williams, VDH, the old Colgate and even the vintage Old Spice soaps are much simpler creatures. They lather, they're slick, they provide protection, and some smell ok, and some smell like Williams. (Ok, ok, one minor bash. So sue me.)

It is very important for artisan soaps to lather easily, I agree. We tend to spend more on those soaps so anything that would make them seem less than worth the price would be a bad thing. And I don't think we'd buy a soap that smelled like Stirling Iced Pineapple if it was impossible to lather. Point taken. As much as I love the feel/performance and scents of a lot of Stirling products and a few other artisans as well, there is still a part of me that wonders why I spend that money when, for three bucks, I can get VDH or a stick of Arko. It's a luxury tax sort of thing. The artisan soaps add to the experience of the shave and I'm willing to pay something extra for that extra experience.

Now as for Tabac - yep - almost as polarizing as Williams or Arko - but it produces a better than average lather and that smokey leathery scent - well in my book it's one of the best classics around. It resides in my top three soaps as far as brands go.

Final thought that has banged around in my head more than once before sliding out into oblivion - the cost of a replacement puck of Tabac or MWF is equal to the cost of some of the small batch soaps, and not that much cheaper than some of the higher priced ones. I suppose we could break the classic soaps into two categories based on that. The "vintage classic", and the "vintage luxury". There. I've taken something simple like soap and further complicated it. You're very welcome.

 

Well there isn't a Toggle in every den so it's running from the back of the pack. Mega-love for cookies though. That makes me smile.

 

My only comment is on the $$$$ issue. Back when I still called myself a "rookie member"-i.e. there was no such thing as "Stoylin" or "Doc Ezlovan" yet-I replied to a shave report by @RaZorBurn123 , that the soap he used for that report-Wm. Neumann(I now call "Bill Neumann") was too expensive for me to consider, let alone buy. He said, in so many words, well that might be, but these soaps are half-pounders.....you can get a lot of shaves in for the money. In 2019, when I return to buying products, I just may try to experience that. I may find that Bill Neumann soaps would fall under a "vintage&luxury" category.

 

Some of the newer soaps do indeed pack more into a tub than traditionals. Arko, for instance, may seem like a bargain at an average of around $5 per stick (which is $2 more than when I started 4 years ago). $5 vs. $13 or so for Stirling seems an easy price winner. However, Arko sticks are 2 ounces. Stirling packs 4. So a true comparison would be $10 for Arko, $13 for Stirling. Much closer. As for how long it lasts? Two sticks of Arko should take you anywhere from 6 to 8 months down the road. One tub of Stirling, probably not. So there's that advantage costwise as well.

I do know of one of the newer artisan companies who started out selling 6 ounce tubs and have now changed to 4 ounces per tub. Their reason for doing so was apparently the lack of repeat business while customers went through those extra 2 ounces. Hey, that's not a bad business decision for the company and they all have to make money but it is a bit disconcerting to those of us on the other end when changes like that are made.

 

Great photo Jim. I do the same ATG/XTG for my 2 pass shaves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thank you Jim.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks, Clint.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

I swear I posted this in the Stirling Exchange yesterday. Guess I have too much on my mind.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk

 

I haven't Jason. but you know, I need more soap. Lol

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk

 

Terrific report, Joseph! Will you off-load the Progress at some point?

Superb photo, Clint! Enjoy the visit with your mom.

Beautiful photo as always, Jim! Interesting with the ATG pass first. I think there are some others on here that do that as well. Perhaps @clint64?

 

Nope. I didn't think it came across as such at all. I guess I was just "spring boarding" off of what you did say. And, likewise, you elaborated on that even further.

I suppose you could even say (which you did), that among the classics, there are different grades. Arko & Williams are more of the "down and dirty" basic soaps. They serve a function, and they do it well. The same holds true with VDH (although I don't know how long they've been around, and if the term "classic" applies with them). For sake of argument, we'll throw them in the mix. MWF and Tabac ratchet up the game a little, by throwing a bit of luxury and skincare into their offerings, and as a result, the price goes up. Still a value, given how long a puck lasts.

Your point on the artisan soaps is absolutely correct as well. There's little chance any of us would buy puck after puck of different brands/scents, if ease of use & performance wasn't there. Those of us in The Hobby are always looking for that...something more, something different. Could we shave everyday with only one soap? Certainly. Are we gonna? Oh, hell no. It doesn't help when this place is chock-full of enablers, either.

I think a nice mix of classics along with the artisan offerings is a fantastic way to round out the den. Of the ones I like, from both sides, get appreciated for what they are. Take Arko - sure, it lacks the post shave feel that many other soaps provide. But, when you want a quick, easy, no-fuss shave...oh yeah! Get 'er done. And you get a lot of those shaves for a little over a buck. Want a little more luxury? Spend under $5.00 and get VDH. A little more luxury? Drop ~$13 for Stirling....and so on...

So yeah...let's roll with that - Vintage Classic and Vintage Luxury. Good definitions for the classic soap offerings.
Why do we spend the extra money on artisan soaps? Because they exist, and because we can.

 

Thank you, Perry.
Yeah, Clint shaves with the atg pass to start with. IIRC he's been shaving like that since I joined the 30DC. Worked really well for me.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

Thank you Perry. Guilty as charged with the ATG first pass.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

On the subject of Brush Aqusition Disorder(BAD), we note that I haven't yet mentioned a brush to buy in 2019 to celebrate the end of NB18. Maybe ONE more fancy one(that is, from a shaving company)or maybe I'll just grab another Burma Shave, now that my swirling is better than it was when I had my FIRST. Or both. We shall see.